The "godmother" of South Africa's first commissioned patrol corvette, first lady Zanele Mbeki, attended the official handover of the SAS Amatola on Thursday, four years after she christened and launched it in Germany.

"I do not remember when I have been so proud of my country and its youth," wrote Mbeki in the ship's visitor's book. In a combined ceremony, the SAS Amatola was handed over from the European South Africa Corvette Consortium to the South African government, and then commissioned into the South African Navy.

The fully operational MEKO A200-class vessel, among the most advanced warships in the world today, is one of four such frigates which have been delivered to the country as part of government's multi-billion strategic arms package. "The corvettes will be critical in ensuring that for many years to come the Navy will be able to provide the requisite levels of operations and support to ensure stability, peace and security of both the Indian and Atlantic ocean coastlines of South Africa, southern Africa and further afield," said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota during the military parade.

Lekota told Sapa that eventually commissioning the vessel after the controversy spawned by the arms deal, was "worth it". "Clearly, you know, we've reached a point at which we are seeing now the outcomes of the arms procurement. Its all systems go, the nation has achieved this," Lekota said.

He said the patrol corvettes would be complemented by two German-built submarines, the first of which was scheduled to arrive in April, and strike craft and inshore patrol vessels as part of a comprehensive strategic defence capability. "Maritime defence capability is therefore essential for our role as a global player fully prepared for any threats to the critical economic activity of the international sea routes around us," Lekota said.

His audience included Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin and most of the top brass from all the defence services, such as SANDF chief, General Godfrey Ngwenya and Navy chief, Vice Admiral Refiloe Mudimu. Mudimu charged the vessel's captain, David Guy Jamieson, with the ship's commission and handed over a traditional symbol of command, a brass telescope, before Jamieson was piped on board the ship.

Earlier, at a media briefing, project director for the corvettes, Rear Admiral (junior grade) Johnny Kamerman, said it had not been all plain sailing. He mentioned a nine-month delay, caused by the installation of inadequate cables in Germany, pushing back timelines for the arrival of the platforms in South Africa. "The biggest challenge we faced was the fact that we took our local industry from a laboratory, technology-retention programme type of environment into a major acquisition, repetitive production type of environment."

Kamerman said, nevertheless, that the project had exceeded beyond the "most ambitious hopes" with 75 percent of the combat suite design built by local companies.

The combat system is mostly South African-designed, with local involvement in key areas of the combat management system, communications, electronic warfare, radar, missile and gun systems.

The platforms, consisting primarily of a hull and machinery, were manufactured in Germany, with the vessels to be fitted out and made combat-ready in South Africa.

The SAS Amatola's overall length is 121m, i9t has a displacement of 3600 tons, and is powered by a unique combined diesel and gas turbine with horizontal exhausts. Featuring a "stealth" design, it has a top speed of 30 knots, a range at cruising speed of about 8000 nautical miles and a complement of 107 crew.

With acknowledgement to Wendell Roelf and Sapa.